Lord Howe Conger, Ariosoma howensis (McCulloch & Waite 1916)


An eel called a Lord Howe Conger, Ariosoma howensis, that washed ashore on Lord Howe Island in 2005

A Lord Howe Conger, Ariosoma howensis, that washed ashore on Lord Howe Island in 2005. Source: Geoff Kelly / Lord Howe Marine Park via ALA. License: All rights reserved

Summary:
A relatively stout brownish conger eel with narrow dark margins on the dorsal, caudal and anal fins, and dark bands across the head: the first on the snout (except for white lips and nostrils), the second across the interorbital region and forming a dark patch below the eye, the third band across the nape and preopercular region, and the fourth band across the operculum. The dorsal fin originates above the operculum.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2019, Ariosoma howensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 25 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3908

Lord Howe Conger, Ariosoma howensis (McCulloch & Waite 1916)

More Info


Distribution

East of Flinders Reefs, Queensland Plateau, Coral Sea, to off North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, and Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the south-west Pacific: Lord Howe Rise, New Caledonia, and south-eastern part of the South Fiji Basin.

Features

Dorsal fin 211-241; Anal fin 161-178; Vertebrae 151-161, trunk vertebrae 77-82. 
Dorsal fin originating before base of pectoral fin, above the 4th-6th pore of lateral line; pores of lateral line to anus 53-59. Supraorbital canal 6, suborbital canal 8, preoperculomandibular canal 10, occipital commissure 3.

Etymology

The species is named howensis for the type locality: Lord Howe Island.

Species Citation

Congermuraena howensis McCulloch & Waite 1916, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 40: 438, pl.40 (fig.2). Type locality: Lord Howe Island

Author

Bray, D.J. 2019

Resources

Australian Faunal Directory

Lord Howe Conger, Ariosoma howensis (McCulloch & Waite 1916)

References


Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2 

Castle, P.H.J. 1964. Congrid leptocephali in Australasian waters with descriptions of Conger wilsoni (Bl. and Schn.) and C. verreauxi Kaup. Zoological Publications of the Victoria University, Wellington (37): 1-44 figs 1-10 (as a synonym of Ariosoma mauritianum)

Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2 

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) 

Karmovskaya, E.S. 2004. Benthopelagic bathyal conger eels of families Congridae and Nettastomatidae from the western tropical Pacific, with descriptions of ten new species. Journal of Ichthyology 44(Suppl. 1): 1-32

McCulloch, A.R. & Waite, E.R. 1916. Additions to the fish fauna of Lord Howe Island. No. 5. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 40: 437-451 pls 40-43 See ref at BHL

Smith, D.G. & Stewart, A.L. 2015. Families Derichthyidae, Nemichthyidae, Congridae, Nettastomatidae, Serrivomeridae. pp. 259-290 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37067038

Depth:60-600 m

Habitat:Soft bottom areas

Max Size:42 cm TL

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map